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I love peach and pineapple cold brew tea, I have it in a big wineglass with ice cubes and mint leaves. Easy to prepare in the morning, I keep a big jar in the fridge so it is nice and cold when I get home from work!

YES! I just discovered vinegar drinks a few nights ago and as nasty as it sounds, it’s so worth a try if you are sick of lemonade and ginger beer.

Note 1: It takes some experimenting to find your preferred portions.
Note 2: there are lots of recipes online; drinking vinegars are often called “shrubs.”
Note 3: there is some evidence that small amounts of vinegar may slow digestion and make you feel full longer. (in a good way)

Many recipes call for grating and soaking and stirring and filtering, etc, and if you’re into that, awesome! I’m lazy though, so I just mix a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar in an 8oz of cold fizzy water, with sugar or syrup to taste (try specialty syrups like rose cardamom, or hibiscus). For me, it almost exactly replicates the refreshing zing of a cold glass of white wine on a warm summer evening. Balsamic vinegar with sugar/syrup comes sorta close to a bad red wine. I’ve yet to try champagne vinegar or any wine vinegar, but I’m optimistic…I think the only type that’s too strong to use in drinks is straight white vinegar.

I’ve recently discovered jalepeno limeade! Mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with fizzy water (hooray for Soda Streams!) it makes a great evening drink with a little bit of a bite to it. Ginger beer and kombucha are also good, and I have lavender dry soda in the fridge but haven’t tried it yet. I appreciate all the suggestions for things other than tea because as much as I like all the varieties, it’s a daytime drink for me, and I have bad associations from past attempts to quit when I’d drink like 5 teas a night and get sick of it. I want a cold carbonated beverage with a kick to it! Also excited to try lemon/lime cucumber fizzy water.

I named my fave drink a “Pink Flamingo”….. Ice in a glass, shot of lite Cranberrry juice, top up with soda water and a glug of lite lime juice….Delicious and so refreshing and best of all – low sugar as the juices are sweetened with Stevia.

I drink ginger beer at party settings and people think it’s beer so it eliminates the questions. It feels less awkward than a water bottle. I am surprised how many people don’t notice my not drinking because it felt like who I was.

I’m new to this great site, and wanted to share a recent discovery which is Seedlip – check it out online. It’s a no alcohol, no calories drink based on C17th herbal recipes, but now being properly marketed and increasingly distributed, although still early days. Basically think of treating it like gin, so as a basis for cocktails, or I love it simply with slimline tonic, ice and lemon. It has a great aroma and definite slight ‘kick’ which makes it a more interesting drink. I have started offering it at home to friends who are driving or pregnant (sadly I seem not to have non-drinking friends) instead of the ubiquitous and fattening elderflower presse and fruit juices I was over-indulging in in my early sober days (now ten months on…). Most have been impressed, and I really think it could help people cut down as well as being for non-drinkers. It is pricey at around £25, but you get many drinks from one bottle (which also looks cool, like a funky spirit bottle). There are two varieties: herbal and spicey – I like both. The other issue is where to get it: I found it in the fantastic local community shop in Semley, Dorset, and they have just started serving it in the local Forrestors’ pub (barmaid was bemused but intrigued); but for the rest of you it has hit the national press and I see you can order it online from Amazon and one or two other places, which I will try when my initial two bottles run out (all too soon)!

Herbal teas are yummy but you know the story about too much of a good thing!
Last night I was desperate not to go herbal tea route!
All I had was a lemon lime bitters drink in the fridge.
Popped that in my enormous old wine glass.
Holds 500ml but that’s just one glass of wine you know!
Threw in a big handful of frozen boysenberries, a couple of slices of lemon and cucumber.
Absolutely delicious! Felt very treaty!

I came here looking for mocktails, etc. and it’s about weed??? I was hooked on weed for 6 years and I ain’t going back. It messed me up and those years were a blur. Not jumping from one addiction to another! Plus it’s illegal in Oz and I’m too old to go to jail.

I love the hopt range of drinks , my favourite is the lychee one, I take them to parties as you can drink more than one and the bottle is the same as beer so you get less cross examination about not drinking

i bought a juicer and my fav is low sodium V8 or tomato to start then juice carrots, celery, cucumber, spinach, mild mini sweet peppers and ginger. mix it all together and add key lime juice or lemon. i love leaving work and saying ” I’m going home to get juiced.”. the work it takes to juice distracts me when i first walk thru the door, which was when i grabbed my glass of wine.

Kia ora all
I have just joined your online community because I decided that I can not stop drinking without support. My counselor put me on to you and I am pleased that I was finally able to join after initial registration hassles. Thanks Lotta for sorting this out for me. Today is my first day of trying to stay sober. I realise this is a hard journey but it is the only journey I want to take at this stage in my life. I live with my partner, two cats and a rooftop beehive (currently hibernating), soon to be joined by a dog by the name of Lotti.
I have been drinking for a few years now but this has recently snowballed after the death of my mother last year. Family feuds drove me nearly bananas and hence my drinking snowballed. I added whiskey to my daily wine intake and my doctors have commented on my raced Triglycerides. Scary!
Well here I am and I am hoping to make many new friends who can help me to achieve my goal.
Looking forward to go together on this journey.
Kia kaha
Floyd

I have found a fantastic and actually healthy non- alcoholic drink… the Indian Watermelon Mint.. It is watermelon, mint, rock salt, ice, and roasted cumin all blended up, and it is really delicious. I am not too exacting on measurements, but if you are, here is a link that gives a precise recipe for it, as well as other Indian drinks.

Also, another drink that is great but not so healthy is Orange Creamsicle Punch. This is one bottle of ginger ale, one carton of orange juice (or pop), and a generous amount of vanilla ice cream all mixed together by hand in a bowl.. When you think of all the calories and sugar alcohol has, as well as the suppression of our ability to burn fat because of alcohol’s effect on the liver, Orange Creamsicle Punch is actually quite innocent. by comparison, not to mention very pretty to look at when the ice cream creates beautiful creamy swirls through the orange colour.

Well amazingly to me, yesterday I celebrated 3 full years since becoming alcohol free.
I can honestly say alcohol rarely crosses my radar these days…(well apart from other people’s problem drinking that is!).
.I spent most of yesterday returning home from beautiful Cape Verde where I had been on holiday with my husband
.Sounds idyllic & it was for the first half of the holiday, then, emboldened by the ‘all inclusive’ bar,he turned into Mr Hyde.
He has had a drink problem for as long as I have known him so this is nothing new ..but still shocking when verbal abuse is thrown at you. We had enjoyed a lovely meal to celebrate Father’s Day ( & incidentally 51 years to the day since we met as 17 year olds). I am unable to make him stop drinking I know but it was certainly a holiday of 2 halves

I have a bottle of Charlies Raspberry & Lemonade which I mix with L & P. This is a thirst quencher for me. When I get a craving for alcohol I need to check first with myself if perhaps I’m hungry instead. Its usually the case, so I eat, then I have the above drink just before bed.

I like hibiscus tea with organic honey. Or any tea for that matter! Also started drinking hot cocoa mixed with French vanilla cappuccino (from gas stations) lol it has helped me with alcohol cravings… Also tried some v8 juices , carrot/mango was pretty tasty:)

So far I have started to like habiscus tea with honey, Or any tea for that matter! Also enjoy French vanilla cappuccinos mixed with hot chocolate (from gas stations). Lol. Just tried out v8 mango carrot juice it was pretty good too.

What with all the soda, sparkling water recipes?!? I don’t drink anything carbonated, don’t like fizz. If anyone has any drink recipes that don’t include this (besides smoothies), please post.
Many thanks!

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